The Town That Time Forgot
by missakat
Summary: The town abandoned and left to fall to ruin, subject of many a horror story. Wendy returns to Gravity Falls, in order to pay respects to those long since passed.


The dilapidated structures had been abandoned for years. In the time after the incident, the steady flow of tourists to the Oregon town had slowed to a trickle, until the area's main source of income had dried up. Those who had been effected by the event and the young families residing in the town packed up and left. Those more established in the area made attempts to keep financially afloat, but their efforts went to waste. The secrets of Gravity Falls were to be left buried, side by side with the bodies.

A dinged up pickup truck bumped along the soon-to-be overgrown dirt road. At a cleared area, the remains of an old parking lot, it was pulled to the side, and its loud engine quieted. The driver's side door opened, and out stepped a woman, long legs easily covering the distance to the ground. Her vibrant red hair stood out in the strangely dull environment, the clouded sky leeching the color out of the thick forest beneath it. She slammed the door shut behind her, a loud sound in the eerie quiet of the day. She zipped her jacket up, at the sudden chill that permeated the air. Strangely cool for a late summer's day.

Behind her another door slammed, and the scuff of footsteps announced her companion joining her. "Aunt Wendy, why are we stopping in this ghost town?" complained a dark haired teenager. Much like her mother, Johanna's nose was always in an electronic device. Wendy smirked, an expression reminiscent of her own teenaged years, and ruffled the younger girl's dark head. "Don't worry about it Jo, I'm just visiting an old friend." Jo puffed her cheeks out in an peeved way, which soon morphed into a questioning look. "An old friend? No one even lives here anymore."

Wendy simply expressed a sad smile and shook her head lightly. The red head moved to get some things out of the back of the pickup, leaving Johanna to puzzle over what her aunt meant. Jo had read up on this town; there was no one left. The tourist industry had been scared away long ago. The story was that a girl had gone insane and gone on a murderous rampage, killing a ton of people before hanging herself in her attic. Well, that was according to the internet sites and blogs on the event. The coverage of the story was strangely vague, with no naming of the murderer, the victims, or even what the motive to the killings was. As if someone had tried to cover it up.

Her 'aunt' returned, now carrying a cooler and wearing a backpack. Wendy wasn't actually her aunt, but her mother and the redhead had been close friends since their childhood, making her as much of family as her blood relatives. She had no children of her own, but had been a friend and role model for Johanna her entire life. She now looked upon her, a slightly morose expression on her usually calm or happy face. "You ready?"

Johanna scowled. "Ready for what, exactly?" Wendy smirked, the smile not reaching her eyes. She then started to stride away, back towards the shadowed road they'd just driven down. Jo scurried to catch up, her shorter legs no match for the pace Wendy's long ones could easily reap. "Where are you going?" she called, stopping abruptly so as not to run into her aunt. "Can you not see the path in front of you?" Wendy said sarcastically, gesturing with her free hand. Jo blushed in slight embarrassment when she caught sight of the trail. Even more overgrown than the path they'd just driven down, the neglected road was hidden behind lush foliage.

Wendy led the way down the path, now moving at a more casual pace, unhindered by the bags she carried. She seemed lost in thought as she glanced among the trees, as if reminiscing about her past. Johanna knew that her mother and Wendy had grown up together in this town, but neither had ever divulged the true story of the events that killed it. This lead to her researching on her own, and thus finding the internet blogs about the place. Most the stories were found on sites also hosting farfetched ghost stories. Johanna didn't specifically believe in ghosts, but like most people, scary movies about the intangible entities sent her into at least a day or two being scared of the dark. Or, more specifically, what was found in it.

Her phone buzzed in her sweater pocket, giving her a welcome relief to the dull scenery around her. There'd been hardly any service at all out here, so some connection to her friends was a godsend. She opened the purple-cased device and read the message from her friend back home, her pace slowing so she wouldn't trip on the uneven forest ground. A small snigger escaped her lips, and she quickly tapped out a reply. With a snap the phone was closed and returned to her pocket, and she was once again facing the boring woods.

Wendy had gotten a bit further ahead of her on the trail, not noticing her charge's slowed pace. _Fine by me... _ Johanna turned, considering escaping back to the truck, where she could at least attempt to catch a radio station or at the very least sit down, when a flash of color met her eyes. Moving off the trail a bit, noting its location carefully, she pulled aside a leafy branch to reveal a dirty sign. It was hanging on a rusted nail, and the years had taken their toll on the cheaply painted surface. "Huh. What's the Mystery Shack?" Johanna started to turn when another flash of color caught her eye. A flash of red. She whipped her head back towards the sight, a deep chill settling itself in her stomach.

A young girl, not older than she, stood a few yards away. Her ratty brown hair was long, reaching almost to her knees. And dripping thickly from its tangled strands was blood. Johanna took an involuntary step back as the specter's head tilted to an unnatural angle, as if lolling around on a broken neck. With a blood soaked hand, it pushed the long bangs away from its face, revealing crazed, glowing eyes, and a noose hanging like a sick necklace.

_ "Dipper? Is that you?" _the dead voice sent shivers down Johanna's spine, and she finally regained her mobility as the deceased girl took a halting step towards her. That, and she'd caught sight of an axe trailing on the ground, clutched in the ghost girl's dripping hands. With a scream that could put many Hollywood actresses to shame, she sprinted to the trail, not caring what direction she was going as long it was away from that _thing. _A few seconds into her manic sprint, she ran headlong into a sturdy form. She thudded to the ground with another panicked cry, covering her face with her arms as if that would save her from the murderous ghost she had seen.

"Jo! Jo what's wrong! Johanna!" Jo felt warm hands gripping her arms, and it took her a few moments to discern Wendy's voice over the slowly quieting sound of her own screams. She allowed her aunt to lower her arms, looking into the familiar face as tears began to well in her own eyes. With a slightly choked sob, she buried her face in Wendy's jacket, comforted slightly by the familiar scent. Wendy sat and hugged her for a few minutes, until her hysterical sobbing had calmed down. She pulled Jo out of her embrace, warm hands on her arms. "You alright, kid?"

With a sniffle, Jo replied, "I-I thought I saw something." She hiccupped lightly, "A- a ghost." Wendy smiled warmly at her, then pulled her into another comforting embrace. "Don't worry kid, I'll take care of those ghosts for ya. Now come on, I'll just be a couple more minutes." She pulled the younger girl to her feet, and they continued down the trail together, Jo gripping Wendy's hand tight.

After about five minutes they arrived in a large clearing, bigger than the one they'd parked the truck in. Situated in the center was a rundown building, the epitome of the classic haunted house. Large letters decorated the roof, many of which had fallen over in the years of misuse. Johanna tightened her grip on Wendy's hand, receiving an encouraging squeeze in return. "Don't you worry your pretty little head. We're not going inside." Jo's anxiety calmed slightly, as she caught a small mutter from Wendy, not intended for her ears. "I don't think I _could_ go back in..."

Wendy led the way behind the house, towards a break in the trees. Jo looked around with slight apprehensiveness, but Wendy seemed confident in the area. _Could she have lived here once? _But when they came upon the clearing, Jo's shock caused her to stop in her tracks, releasing Wendy's hand and causing the woman to turn around questioningly.

It was like they'd stumbled upon another world. The glade they had come upon was beautiful. Despite the cloudy day, the light permeating the area was bright. Flowers of all type and color bloomed, adding a splash of color that felt unnatural given the dreary state of the rest of the woods. The grass was like a lush carpet, long enough to add a soft touch to the ground, yet not in an overgrown state like the rest of the town. And sitting at the center of the pristine scene, as if surrounded by a halo of light, were two headstones.

Wendy took in Jo's shocked face with a sad look on her own, before setting her bags down. She carefully removed the lid of the cooler, and pulled out a bouquet of flowers, pale with faded pink. She walked forward and carefully laid them by the graves, her hand reaching up to her face as she stepped back. Wiping away tears? "Wendy...?" Jo was about to step forward when suddenly the girl from earlier appeared before her aunt. Her heart jumped to her throat, but her fear began to mix with curiosity as she saw Wendy not flinch away from the entity.

_"Wendy?" _ the girl murmured, to which Wendy replied in a broken voice, "Yeah Mabel, it's me." The bloodied ghost still hung in the air, her head cocked to the side at a more natural angle than she'd faced Jo with earlier that day. _"Have you found Dipper?" _ Wendy's hand swiped at her face again, and she replied, "Sorry Mabel, I haven't. But I found something else!" Wendy bent down and picked up her backpack, unzipping it and pulling out a tattered book.

"I found your scrapbook, Mabel." Johanna could hear the tears that were straining her aunts voice. "Remember it?" She held out the book, and Mabel stepped closer, her dripping hands reaching for it. Wendy started to flip through the pages for the unearthly form, and to Jo's amazement, the ghost's features slowly began to change. Her tangled hair became clean and fluffy, the blood faded from her fingertips. When Wendy had finished her slow flip through the scrapbook, she had gone from a bloodied phantom to a sweet looking young girl.

She smiled up at her, a heart-gladdening grin that lit up the glade even more than before. _"Thanks Wendy! I'm going to go look for Dipper!" _And not a moment later she had disappeared, leaving Wendy standing alone in the center of the glade. She closed the scrapbook, and set it down beside the flowers she'd placed moments before. Taking a deep breath, Wendy turned around and faced Johanna. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, her eye's still glittering with the salty drops.

"Come on then." she said, gesturing for her to come over. She reached back into her bag and pulled out a checkered blanket, laying it out on the forest floor. Jo cautiously approached her aunt, touched by seeing her usual air of calmness broken. She'd never seen her cry before. Wendy laid down the blanket and plopped onto it, patting the spot beside her. "I think you'd like to learn more about this town then, wouldn't you?"

Wendy used to live and work in Gravity Falls. Her father was a lumberjack, well established in his trade, and a respected member of the town. During the summer she worked at the Mystery Shack, a tourist trap run by a crotchety old man named Stan Pines. "Not the best money, I must admit, but a decent job." Wendy stated, shaking her head in the remembrance of the antics of the greedy man who ran it. It was through her work there that she'd met Dipper and Mabel.

They were out of towners, shipped out to the boonies for the summer by well-wishing parents. Mabel was a bundle of joy, and her twin brother Dipper was more cynical, yet just as fun to be around. It was through them that she'd first seen the supernatural aspects of the place she'd lived in all her life. She would never forget their night at the haunted convenience store, where Dipper had been able to get rid of the ghosts that were possessing his sister and attacking her friends. "How'd he do it?" Jo asked, but Wendy put a finger to her lips. "Sorry, I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone."

The twins had had a knack for the secret side of the town. They would always disappear into the woods, and return hours later with god knows what on their tail. Her coworker, a teddy bear man named Soos, and she had been dragged along on numerous occasions. It was generally fun, a touch of adventure to their generally boring lives in the quiet town. But it was this affinity that spelled their downfall.

One day, Dipper disappeared. That night they'd been planning on eating together at Greasy's Diner, but Dipper had forgot something at the shack and walked back. That was the last time they saw him alive. Without a trace, not a footprint or a suspicious item; He was gone. Everyone searched for him, the first few days. The whole town, even some people from other counties, lead by little Miss Mabel Pines. And she was the one who found him. Her twin brother, cold and gone.

"And then she went mad." Wendy said, another tear trickling down her face. "She refused to believe he was dead. Even after the funeral. No one ever knew how it happened, but his neck was broken. She kept denying it, saying he was still lost and needed her help. After a couple weeks, she went on a rampage. It's the story in all of your blogs. The girl who went psycho." Wendy laughed bitterly. "And then she hung herself." She was then quiet for a while. Jo's own eyes stung with unshed tears. She laid a hand on her aunts, giving her support.

They sat like that for a while, until the light began to fade to orange in the little haven tucked away from the world. Wendy straightened, sitting up and stretching, before she started to pack up her things. "I think we should be heading out. Your mother is probably going crazy with worry." Jo helped her fold the blanket, and they started their trip back. But a moment after stepping out of the copse of trees, she turned back for one last look at the cemetery. "Aunt Wendy, who maintains it?"

Wendy glanced back, then followed her niece's line of sight. She gave a small, sad smile, saying, "I think it's the creatures of the forest. Not sure why, but I feel like it's a bit of a gift from them. They were really special, those kids." Jo found it hard to tear her eyes away, and when she did the world seemed so much darker than it had before. But when she trotted forward and gripped Wendy's hand, the world felt just a little bit brighter.

From a perch high in the trees, a child's form watched the visitor's return to the living world. He swung his transparent legs, a small smile on his face at seeing his past crush once more. With a flicker of light, Dipper Pines disappeared.

It was time for him to find his sister.

**Hello! Thank you for reading my first ever fanfiction! Just a couple notes I would like to make to clarify some aspects of this fic, so as not to confuse any of you lovely people.**

** This was inspired by a blog on tumblr, a collection of more 'grim' pictures and ideas contributed by the gravity falls fandom. A close friend of mine (and a avid fan of gravity falls) pointed out that Mabel's actions were out of character, but this was due to the influence of this blog. I may in the future write a type of epilogue to this story, which will look more into the spiritual influence that would have caused the 'events' that occurred prior to the present time of this story, as this was left open. As to the characters within this fic, I added in a last minute OC for the purpose of the story telling. Johanna gave an outlet for the basis of the story, which was that it was being told from a point of view that didn't have extended knowledge of the events that occurred within Gravity Falls. I would have used a canon character, but none of them suited the role I was intending. **

** If you would like to look into the inspiration for this story, the blog goes by the username of depravityfalls. **

**Thank you all for reading my fic! I hope you enjoyed! C:**

**~Missa**


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